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Northeastern State Inks NLI Commitments
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. --- Northeastern State head football coach Kenny Evans announced the signing of 18 freshmen and 9 transfers on the first day of signings of national letters of intent for football Wednesday.
"We are very excited about this class," said Evans. "In the two years since I've been here and going into my third season this is probably the best class we've been able to recruit with limited money, because we do have a lot of players coming back.
"But the caliber of player we did sign with the limited money, we have come up with some very good players. This is the first year of recruiting we've had with a full staff. Having a full staff here for a year has definitely made an impact and the caliber of players we've brought in here," said Evans.
The RiverHawks brought in 9 transfers for the second semester, which Evans feels will give the program some immediate help.
"We've added greatly to our program over the last two years and we are looking forward to seeing them on the field."
Evans and his staff brought in seven defensive linemen and three offensive linemen. Evans said they were looking for offensive and defensive linemen and he feels they have filled their needs in that area. "It's like they say, you never know until you get them on the field and against competition that you know how it will work out.
"You are always looking for linemen and you take guys that are going to have to develop in that area," said Evans. "You try to get some immediate help in that area, but of course we were young and have a lot of people back in those areas.
"We looked at some big guys from premier programs, like Dalton Duckett from Union High School. And we brought some athletes at receiver and running backs, such as (Steven) Hopper from Broken Arrow, along with some other quality young men."
"We are very excited about this class and hopefully we'll see a lot more wins in the future," said Evans.
MIDTERM TRANSFERS
|
Name | Pos | Ht | Wt | Previous | Hometown |
| Gus Jones | LB/DE | 6-3 | 235 | Oklahoma | Wagoner, OK |
| Cody Lenz | P | 6-0 | 190 | Trinity Valley | Deer Park, TX |
| Chris Meyers | LB | 6-2 | 225 | Kilgore | Houston, TX |
| Gionni Harris | WR | 5-9 | 170 | Arkansas Tech | Fayetteville, AR |
| Shahpore Khalifeh | WR | 5-9 | 175 | Henderson St. | Joplin, MO |
| Keith Owens | DE | 6-2 | 215 | McKinney Boyd | McKinney, TX |
| Kendall McKellum | WR | 6-2 | 195 | Northern Iowa | Tulsa, OK |
| Travon Brooks | DB | 6-0 | 200 | Emporia St. | Muskogee, OK |
| Ryan Nolan | QB | 6-1 | 180 | Missouri Southern | Keys, OK |
FRESHMEN SIGNEES
| NAME | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown/High School |
| Joseph Alston | DE | 6-4 | 220 | Berryhill, OK/Berryhill HS |
| Daryn Alves | ATH | 5-10 | 180 | Durant, OK/Durant HS |
| Justin Butterfield | DL | 6-4 | 255 | Bartlesville, OK /Bartlesville HS |
| Isikeli Cocker | OL | 6-2 | 290 | Euless, TX/Trinity HS |
| Terrance Dixon | RB | 5-11 | 195 | Sand Springs, OK/Charles Page HS |
| Dalton Duckett | OL | 6-1 | 320 | Tulsa, OK/Union HS |
| Jaimon Gilstrap | RB | 5-10 | 180 | Tulsa, OK/East Central HS |
| Steven Hopper | RB | 6-0 | 195 | Broken Arrow, OK/Broken Arrow HS |
| Willie Hubbard | ATH | 5-11 | 180 | Euless, TX/Trinity HS |
| Ethan James | OL | 6-5 | 295 | Gore, OK/Gore HS |
| Cole Johnson | DE/LB | 6-1 | 215 | Tulsa, OK/Lincoln Christian HS |
| Langston Jones | DB | 6-2 | 195 | Calisburg, TX/Calisburg HS |
| Derek Lowe | CB | 5-11 | 180 | Wylie, TX/Wylie HS |
| Drew Patton | K | 6-0 | 175 | Fayetteville, AR/Fayetteville HS |
| James Renfrow | DE | 6-2 | 215 | Broken Arrow, OK/Broken Arrow HS |
| Joel Rockmore | RB | 5-7 | 185 | Lake Worth, TX/Lake Worth HS |
| Dylan Taylor | ATH | 5-9 | 180 | Vian, OK/Vian HS |
| Ryan Thomas | DE | 6-3 | 215 | Decatur, TX/Decatur HS |
Signees'
Bios
Kendall McKellum , 6-2, 195, wide receiver:
McKellum is a mid-term transfer from Northern Iowa University. He
is Biology major and wants to attend medical school. At Tulsa's
Hale High School, he was selected to play in the Football Coaches
Association All-State game and was selected for the Jim Thorpe
Game.
Ryan Nolan, 6-1, 180, quarterback: Transfer from
Missouri Southern State University and played high school at Keys.
An Education major, he was an All-District selection and an
All-State selection at Keys High School.
Shahpore Khalifeh, 5-9, 175, wide receiver:
Transfer from Henderson State, where he was a Gulf South
All-Academic Team member. He was an All-Conference selection at
Joplin High School.
Gionni Harris, 59-170, wide receiver: Transfer
from Arkansas Tech, where he made 16 catches and scored 3
touchdowns a year ago. A Health and Human Performance major,
Harris was an All-Conference selection and was a member of the
Arkansas All-State team while at Fayetteville High School. He was a
three-year starter and scored 57 touchdowns.
Gus Jones, 6-3, 235, linebacker/defensive end:
Transfer from the University of Oklahoma, where he was redshirted.
At Wagoner High School he was named the Male Athlete of the Year
and was a member of the All-State team, while being selected the
KJRH channel 2 player of the week .
Chris Myers, 6-2, 225, linebacker: Transfer from
Kilgore Junior College. A Criminal Justice major, at Dickenson High
School in Houston, Myers was an All-District selection and took
park in the Space City Classic game.
Keith Owens, 6-2, 215, defensive end: Graduated
high school at mid-term and enter Northeastern State in spring
semester as a Business major. Owens was an All-District selection
for McKinney ,Texas , High School. He was an Honorable mention
Academic All-State selection.
Travon Brooks, 6-0, 200, defensive back: Transfer
from Emporia State where he had 35 tackles and three interceptions
last season. A Health and Human Performance major, at Muskogee High
School, Brooks was an All-Conference, All-Area and All-State
selection. He participated in the Oil Bowl in 2008.
Cody Lenz, 6-0, 190, punter: Transfer from
Trinity Valley Junior College where he was a Southwest Junior
College Football Conference All-Conference selection. He was also a
pre-season All-American selection. A Criminal Justice major,
while at Deer Park, Texas, High School, and Lenz was an
All-District linebacker selection.
Dalton Duckett, 6-1, 320 offensive line: At
Union High School he played in state championship game three times,
winning back-to-back titles. He also participated in track and
wrestling. Duckett was awarded Hit Man award for
football.
Joseph Alston, 6-4, 220, defensive end: At
Berryhill High School he was an All-District kicker of the year,
played kin state championship game and was a state champion
wrestler.
Derek Lowe, 5-11, 180, cornerback: At Wylie Texas
High School, Lowe was an All-District selection and had 37 career
starts, second most at Wylie, where the Pirates won the Class 5A
2008 state championship.
Daryn Alves, 5-10, 180, athlete: At Durant High
School, was an honorable mention All-State selection, rushed for
1,517 yards his senior season, scoring 23 touchdowns. During his
sophomore year he ran for 2,643 yards and scored 32 touchdowns and
followed with 1,283 yards his junior season. He has rushed
for 5,443 yards during his high school career, scoring 72
touchdowns.
Ryan Thomas, 6-3, 215, defensive end: At Decatur
High School in Texas, Thomas was an All-District receiver and
second team All-district defensive end his senior season.
Dylan Taylor, 5-9, 180, athlete: At Vian
High School Taylor was an All-Conference, All-District
selection and was named the Offensive Player of the Year by the
Muskogee Phoenix newspaper. He was an All-State honorable mention
selection.
Terrance Dixon, 5-11, 195, running back: At Sand
Springs High School, Dixon was an All-State selection, Tulsa World
Player of the week selection and was voted Sand Springs MVP. He was
ranked the No. 2 running back in the state by the Tulsa World.
Steven Hopper, 6-0, 195, running back: While at
Broken Arrow High School, Hopper broke the all-time career rushing
record, most yards in one game and holds all the Broken Arrow
rushing records. He is a three sport letter winner in football,
basketball and track. Holds school record for high jump at 6-8.
James Renfrow, 6-2, 215, defensive end: At
Broken Arrow High School his senior season was an All-District
performer, played in the Oil Bowl Classic, was an Wendy's Heisman
Award winner and was selected the defensive player of the game
three times. He played in two state quarterfinal football
games. He was an All-Frontier Conference selection in track
and field and qualified for the state shot put competition.
Langston Jones, 6-2, 195, defensive back: At
Calisburg (Texas) High School, Jones was a first team All-District
selection at running back and linebacker and honorable mention
All-State, while being named co-offensive and defensive MVP for the
Wildcats. He was also an honorable mention lakes Conference
basketball selection.
Ethan James, 6-5, 295, offensive lineman: At Gore
High School, James was an All-District, and All-State selection. He
will be playing for Oklahoma in the Oil Bowl Game on June 12th.
Jaimon Gilstrap, 5-10, 205, running back: At East
Central High School Gilstrap was the district running back of the
year, All-State selection, All-Metro selection, Football Classic
Player of the Game and Army Strong Player of the Week. Played in
the 2007 5A state championship game in which he kicked four extra
points.
Joel Rockmore, 5-7, 185, running back: At Lake Worth (Texas) High School, Rockmore was a first team Class 3A All-State selection and the district offensive MVP. Lake Worth was the Texas 5A state champions in 2009.
Isikeli Cocker, 6-2, 290, offensive line: At Euless Trinity (Texas) High School, Cocker was a first team All-District selection, a member of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper super team and a first team 5A All-State selection. He was listed by the Star-Telegram as a top- 50 recruit.
Willie Hubbard, 5-11, 180, athlete: While at Trinity Euless (Texas) High school Hubbard was an All-District pick and was named the offensive MVP and team MVP.
Drew Patton, 6-0, 175, kicker: While at Fayetteville (Ark.) High School Patton was a pre-season VYPE All-State selection, All-7A West team, Arkansas All-State member, All-Northwest selection and three-year starter and was named outstanding specialist for 2009.
Justin Butterfield, 6-4, 255, defensive line: At Bartlesville High School, Butterfield was an Oklahoma Coaches Association All-State selection, 6A All-District selection and was the co-offensive lineman of the year. Butterfield will play in the Oil Bowl this June.
Cole Johnson, 6-1, 215, defensive end/linebacker: While at Lincoln Christian High School was named one of the top 10 defensive ends in the state and was named to the Tulsa World's All-State team.
Hunter Akers, 6-0, 180, defensive back: At Lake Travis High School, 3-year starter, earned All-District honors, and was member of 3-time Texas 4A state championship team. Grandfather is Fred Akers, former head coach at the University of Texas.
Ellis Ross, 5-11, 170, wide receiver/cornerback: While at Tulsa East Central High School, was an All-District selection and played on 3 district championship teams.
